Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) v Whatcott

posted Mar 7, 2013, 6:49 PM by Ciara Sebastian

Last week’s decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in a
case called Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) v. Whatcott upheld
the constitutionality of the so-called “hate speech” provisions of TheSaskatchewan Human Rights Code, although finding a phrase in the Code to be
invalid. The case makes a distinction between speech that is only
offensive and that which incites hatred. The Supreme Court held that this
limitation on free speech is demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic
society under s. 1 of the Charter.

Whatcott had been distributing flyers equating homosexuals with carriers of disease,
sex addicts, pedophiles and predators who would proselytize vulnerable children
and cause their premature death. The court said these flyers would
objectively be seen as exposing homosexuals to detestation and vilification.
They also expressly called for discriminatory treatment of those of same-sex
orientation. As is the case with the law of discrimination generally, it
doesn’t matter what Whatcott intended by the distribution of these
flyers. The important question to be asked is what is their likely
effect.

Recent media reports state that Whatcott continues to distribute the flyers and
has explicitly said he will not comply with the Court’s decision. Some
argue that we should ignore him and he'll go away; however, if there are no
consequences the law is meaningless.

For an interesting and more comprehensive article on the legal issues involved,
see Ross Mcnab's perspective.